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I'm sure as that day comes I will go and knock at the door of heaven and I know what they will say, they will look at their list and say: 'Your name is not there, can you try next door?' I won't go next door because if I went there I know what will happen to me, I will burn for the rest of eternity. I will look for a branch of the African National Congress in that world and join it.Nelson MandelaRecipient of the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize.

Afrikaner women are lower than rats, closer related to plants, just fit enough to be raped in an act of genus preservation.Nadine Gordimer, Knighted, Nobel Prize winner.

I hate the Afrikaner. I hate his ways, his language and of course his politics.Nadine Gordimer, Knighted, Nobel Prize winner.

The Americans fight for a free world.
The English mostly for honor glory and medals.
The French and Canadians decide too late that they have to participate.
The Italians are too scared to fight.
The Russians have no choice.
The Germans for the Fatherland.
The Boers?
Those sons of bitches fight for the hell of it!Amerikaanse Generaal, George "Guts and Glory" Patton

Give me 20 divisions American soldiers and I will beach Europe.
Give me 15 consisting of Englishmen, and I will advance to the borders of Berlin.
Give me two divisions of those marvelous fighting Boers and I will remove Germany from the face of the earth.Field Marshall Bernard L. Montgomery (Commander Allied forces WWII)

Take a community of Dutchman of the type of those who defended themselves for fifty years against all the power of Spain at a time when Spain was the greatest power in the world.
Intermix with them a strain of those inflexible French Huguenots, who gave up their name and left their country forever at the time of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes.
The product must obviously be one of the most rugged, virile, unconquerable races ever seen upon the face of the earth.
Take these formidable people and train them for seven generations in constant warfare against savage men and ferocious beasts, in circumstances in which no weakling could survive; place them so that they acquire skill with weapons and in horsemanship, give them a country which is immanently suited to the tactics of the huntsman, the marksman and the rider.
Then, finally, put a fine temper upon their military qualities by a dour fatalistic Old Testament religion and an ardent and consuming patriotism.
Combine all these qualities and all these impulses in one individual and you have the modern Boer.Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Their adventures and exploits form one of the most singular chapters of modern history, and deserve a clearer record than has yet been given to them.English historian James Anthony Froude on the Voortrekkers.

A Pretoria community policing forum member was shot and critically injured in a botched hijacking at about 7pm on Sunday night.

Jan Botha, 51, had just returned to his Pierre van Ryneveld home when he was attacked by two gunmen as he parked his car.

It is the sixth such attack on Pretoria homeowners in the past week and gunmen left a trail of terror behind them.

In the past week, three people were killed and four critically injured in a series of house robberies and attempted hijackings.

CCTV footage from Botha’s home security system shows a white Toyota Corolla driving past his home several times shortly before the gunmen launched their attack.

The gunmen, who were armed with a Colt 45, attacked Botha as he walked towards his carport and shot him in the pelvis at point-blank range.

The footage shows how the gunmen grabbed the keys of Botha’s Opel Corsa, wallet and cellphone as he collapsed to the ground before one of them ran towards his wife, Ronel, as she went outside to investigate.

Ronel managed to escape by running back inside the house to raise the alarm.

Minutes later, the hijackers drove slowly out of the driveway of Botha’s home and made their escape.

The gunmen were forced to abandon the car and flee on foot when the vehicle’s anti-hijacking device stalled the car.

Neighbour Jaco Engelbrecht said he was in his garage when he heard a gunshot.

“As I ran outside I saw two men driving slowly out of the driveway in Jan’s car. I did not know what was happening and watched as they drove off,” he said.

He added that the men were not in a hurry and had watched him closely as they drove off.

“It was as though they were not afraid of anything. It was as though they had all the time in the world and were not scared of getting caught,” he said.

He said that when he saw Botha he immediately told him to find his wife as he thought there was someone in the house.

Engelbrecht said he kicked down the front door and found Botha’s wife. He then rushed her outside.

“When I found her she was shaking. I grabbed her and a blanket and just ran. I did not know if there were more people inside and I wanted to get her out of the house as quickly as possible,” he said, describing how they had helped Botha until an ambulance arrived.

Ruan Vermaak, Lifemed Ambulance Services spokesman, said Botha was in a critical condition in Unitas Hospital.

He said he had sustained severe injuries to his pelvis from the gunshot wound.

Frans Esterhuyse, Botha’s business partner and fellow CPF member, said they were shocked by what had happened.

“You do not expect this to happen, especially when it happens to someone who is so involved in looking after other people’s security. Jan is very involved in the community and is always looking out for our suburb’s safety,” he said.

He said crime had been very low in the suburb for the past couple of months, thanks to the actions of Botha and others.

“We had some problems earlier in 2009 with serious crime, but we were able to get the community to come together and bring it under control.

“This attack is worrying and I am afraid that what is happening in other suburbs is going to start happening here with more and more violent attacks occurring,” he said.

The attack last night saw dozens of community members rallying together, closing off streets and searching surrounding open fields in an attempt to track down the gunmen.

Two radio reports could be heard and when one of the alleged suspects was spotted running along the highway there was a flurry of activity as people raced to corner the man.

However, police said the suspect evaded capture.

This article was originally published on page 1 of Pretoria News on July 20, 2009